Pehistoric Settlement of Archontikon at Giannitsa

   The prehistoric settlement of Archontikon was undoubtedly the most important in the region of Pella. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the site was under the control of Pella, first as the capital city of the Macedonian kingdom and later, as a Roman colony.
   The systematic excavations of the site began in 1992 and are still carried out by the 17th Ephorate in collaboration with the Department of Prehistory of the Aristoteleian University of Thessalonike.

   The most important monuments on the site are:
Funerary Heroon (diameter 50 m., perimeter 160 m.). A circular crepis, 5 m. high, surrounds the tumulus which was constructed to cover a monumental Macedonian tomb. Despite the preparation of the tumulus, the tomb was never constructed, probably because of political problems of the period. Dated to the 3rd century B.C.
Prehistoric Toumba and Trapeza. It covers an area of 6 hectares and preserves habitation remains dating from the Neolithic period until the Byzantine era. Houses of the Early Bronze Age and the Iron Age have been brought to light, along with sections of the fortification wall and several houses of the Hellenistic period.